Hello everybody,
We have two new updates from Profound Decisions for their next game. These Winds of War focus on the Western and Eastern fronts, versus the Jotun and the Druj, respectively.
Update! Some more winds were posted, these focus on the fight with the Grendel and the other ocean going nations on the Bay of Catazar that want some vengeance.
Against the Jotun
Funnily enough, this WoW is focused on the fight against the Jotun!
Tromsa
After the battle last event Mathilda Fisher is in Imperial Custody and due to be brought to Anvil at E1. There isn’t any news on what time that will be, but the safe money is on it being not during the battles or the coronation, so probably Friday or Sunday? After taking Fisher captive, the Imperial forces left Tromsa and it has been retaken by the Jotun. They have not managed to destroy the spy network there, though, so the Empire will continue to get info from that until it has been destroyed or is no longer being supported.
Skallahn
The Imperial forces are fighting against several armies of the Jotun. Both of the Wintermark armies present fight with Honour, which reduces their and the Jotun casualties by a tenth. The Freeborn armies are also seen to be acting in a respectful manner, and the Jotun have shown they are aware of it and appreciate it. The armies of the Jotun and the Empire coalesce in front of the ruins of a fortification built in Emperor Guntherm’s time, which is now a heaving market town and an important point of control over the area of Iron Stand. Before the battle a Jotun General invites their opposites to speak, a thawing of the relationship likely influenced by the Imperial Armies’ good behaviour. It doesn’t stop the battle though, and the fight begins at dawn. The battle lines go back and forth across the frozen ground, neither side definiteively taking control. While the Jotun defenders are holding the Imperials at bay, they have managed to conquer a quarter of Iron Stand.
If your military unit is fighting alongside the Burning Falcon, then you may roleplay that you have gained a hero point from the close contact with heralds of both Janon and Eleonaris. This hero point will only last for the duration of the Winter Solstice event, and will disappear once used.
IN ADDITION, any Imperial Orc character of the Sunstorm Sept who has travelled with the armies and fought in a fighting pit may roleplay that they have begun to hear a new ancestor. You don’t need to have sent a military unit, but your character needs to have travelled with the armies. There is much more depth given to what this voice says in the WoW but to summarise, “The voice feels masculine, and speaks of . . . he importance of finding and protecting a family, of loyalty or fidelity to loved ones, and receiving the same in return. And of absolute commitment to protecting that family and wreaking bloody vengeance on anyone who harms them. The voice is usually quite matter-of-fact, but when it speaks of treachery, betrayal, or traitors it burns with a palpable fury that may cause an orc to lose their temper and lash out at someone who has wronged them.” Characters who go on to fight any of these characters in a pit fight whilst under the influence of an Unshackled Gift potion or a similar effect that makes you more aware of the ancestors, may hear it as well.
Kahraman
The Jotun continue to press into Kahraman, the kamkrag watchtowers which are supposed to protect the area are yet to be finished and in fact the builders working on them have become a target, losing 10 wains of White Granite as well as more normal tools and materials. This has to be replaced before the building work can continue, and all building on this and the work on the Red Depths will be delayed by a season. The Lasambrian Jotun are pushing deep into Gambit, and have now conquered three fifths of the region.
Conjunctions
None of these conjunctions have a confirmed time yet, so keep an eye out as we get closer to the event. They are all deemed Combat Highly Likely.
The Falcon (Kahraman)
An architect from Faraden working on the road project has been kidnapped by the Jotun, the Azure Sutannir is responsible for returning them or else risk a diplomatic incident with the Faraden. If they are returned they will likely be very grateful.
Wolf Dreams (Skallahn)
Jarl Ebbe of Overgaard is calling on their warriors to join them, the Imperial Seer has been tasked with sending a group to kill them to prevent the war party from forming. If they manage to do this there will be no possibility fo a similar group forming for the next year, but if they do not the group will be twice as strong and Ebbe will be seen as a Champion of the Jotun. The information for this conjunction was given by a herald of Zakalwe and another herald would like to speak to the Seer at E2 about the outcome.
Threads in the Patter (Liathaven)
Wise Rangara has sent word of a Jotun group planning to slaughter an enclave of Feni, the Imperial Advisor for the Feni is tasked with stopping this from happening. Doing so will make amends for the killing of the Alderly Feni.
Ripples and Shadows
Now, across the Empire, to the Barrens and the fight against the Druj.
This WoW was written from the point of view of the orcs living in the Barrens and comes with a content warning due to the grim nature of the war.
There are curses on the Barrens which cause trees to run amok and kill those who rest beneath them, the curse lessens as we get closer to the Winter Solstice but they are still causing damage and loss of life.
Every region of the Barrens, except for the Heart of Petaht, is now under the control of the Empire and part of Dawn. The Heart of Peytaht is under the control of the Great Forest Orcs who conquered it with the help of the Navaar.
In total it is believed that about 100 Druj survived the season, however, they have escaped to more dangerous areas where they will likely not survive much longer.
The Vendarri were declared Barbarian’s last summit and were nearly wiped out by the Karass, who are Imperial Allies; these septs had long-time grudges against each other, and the Vendarri lacked any other allies in the Barrens. Some of them did escape, but they are now so few in number that they do not count towards the political machinations of the Barrens.
The majority of the Montanians able to fight have been killed. When the Empire arrived at Dourfell Keep they killed everyone there, however it was found that several hundred of the young, the old, and those who could not fight for other reasons had fled. The Golden Eagle decided to let them flee, they would not have been caught before reaching the Eaves of Peytaht, and a battle there may have dragged the Great Forest Orcs into it. Any documentation on the Montanian’s heresy follows their bodies into the pyres.
The Black Wind have been kept under the control of the Druj via fear and hostage taking since the death of their leader Rahvin, now with the control of land going to the Empire so too does the control of the villages and the people that they represent. The Iron Helms moved through the villages of the Black Wind, killing the leaders and taking some of the youngest and oldest as hostages. In every village, the same message was left, “If your people do not come home, you will all die. Make sure they know this.”All of this was done to make sure that those of the Black Wind fighting with the Druj knew that the Empire was serious and that they meant what they told them, if they don’t desert the Druj their civilians will die.
At the Fangs mithril Mine, the Rahvin have been aided by the Imperial Orcs and left alone by the other Imperial forces in the Barrens.
Everyone in the Barrens and the Mallum knows what has been done here, any additional outcomes not mentioned here will come up in future Winds of Fortune.
Between Stone and Salt
Now to Grendel lands.
The Black Plateau continues to haunt anyone who comes within range, filling their sleep with nightmares and their waking moments with paranoia and melancholy. Four armies; the Golden Axe, the Towerjacks, the Seventh Wave, and the Winter Sun, march through it all to the border of the Grendel lands, Mareave.
The Golden Axe are accompanied by heralds of Eleonaris, while the other armies carry enchantments from Imperial Magicians, the Clarity of the Master Strategist, to help aid them in working together.
The locals here are fiercely independent, but do not have the numbers to hold against the Empire. They prefer to scatter than face the armies head on.
Troops from the Brine Turtle Sept come to defend the region, but are forced first to the town of Rathmonna, and then out of the region entirely.
Some slaves are freed from the mines at Icarion and various other settlements, but the majority of the people here are not enslaved, rather they pay tithes to their local Salt Lord, Eshan.
Little is known about Mareave, but with the help of spies and scouts, and some orcs from the Sannite sept who travel with the Imperial Orc armies, more information is able to be retrieved. The Spy network, which was set up last summit, should report to the captains who joined it at the Winter Solstice, this should give more geographical information in particular. Which is good, because there isn’t currently a map of Mareave and that makes military planning trickier.
However, the armies are able to gain some information from the people on the political outlook. The Salt Lord and the Brine Turtle have old grudges against one another, but there are also newer tensions. The Salt Lord is apparently upset with the council for not adequatly defending the territory when the attack was obviously soon to arrive. And a mix of anger and jealousy is directed at the Salt Lord Kaliact and her people for her treachery.
As the Imperial armies enter the Eoradal region they start to draw closer to a small fortified settlement known as the Gate of Storms or Rucraic’s Aerie. It isn’t strong enough to hold off the armies, but it is in an awkward spot that is difficult to reach, allowing the Brine Turtles some breathing room.
Some Imperial soldiers even find the time to investigate the old Skouran ruins that litter these hills, especially the Urizeni and the Varushkans.
Over all, the imperial armies have taken control of 2 regions and are a fifth of the way to taking a third, because there is no map of the region it is impossible to say what the regional layout is like, but we should get updates on that at the next summit.
However, the bigger question is, where the heck are all the Grendel that should be defending this territory?
A Beacon of Smoke
Madruga, the Brass Coast
The city of Siroc is one of the largest in the Empire and, legend says, was built by the strongly anti-slavery founder of the Brass Coast, Guerra. While it is protected towards the sea by a pair of towers (called the Salt Guard) filled with ballistae and other range weapons, on the landward side, however, it is a city of tents with little defence.
The two years of truce the Empire has had with the Grendel have come to an end, and they did so with humiliation for the Grendel in the form of Salt Lord Kaliact’s betrayal. They come to Siroc looking for revenge.
There are also many Asavaean ships within the armada. The Asavaeans also want revenge on the Empire thanks to the destruction of a significant part of their slave empire last year.
The armada is huge, and the combination of powers within it gives the defenders some hint of how things are going to go before they come within weapon range.
The Salt Guard was reinforced by enchantments calling on the strength of the Forgemistress of the Autumn Realm, all the soldiers from the nearby Commonwealth Embassy also come to stand with the Freeborn, a single military unit of Freeborn soldiers is there too.
But it is not enough.
First the chains and nets across the bay are targeted and destroyed by individuals within the city, in the same moment masses of smaller row boats are released to attack the walls of the fort. Many are sunk, but enough reach the port walls to start fighting. There is an attack on each tower of the Salt Guard by Grendel Spring Mages, roots and vines rip stones from the walls.
Many of the Asavaean ships are armed with ballistae, they attack both the Salt Guard and the city itself with massive rocks and burning barrels of oil. By sunset both the towers of the Salt Guard are ruins, collapsed and smoking.
There are few defences on the land for the city of Siroc, several shiploads of soldiers take advantage of this, sweeping around the city on foot to take it from the undefended side. They are soon falling upon the people there, and “canvas makes a poor shield.”
The honour guard of Governor Rahab of Feroz raid the offices of the Mistress of the Glass Parador.
When the Bone Nautilus attacks the Parador of the Kindled Flame, they find that the hundreds who had been sheltering there alongside the orphans are gone, whisked away by heralds and mortal allies of the Eternal Irrah Harrah, they cannot be taken as slaves. Others in the city are not as lucky, but throughout it many are saved, and if any of these saviours are asked they say that they are “discharging a favour for the Armage of Spring.”
Unlike the Grendel, the Asavaeans seem uninterested in taking slaves, instead killing anyone that comes within reach of their weapons. They destroy the House of the Way, the oldest congregation in the Brass Coast, before setting fires to the city, launching many more barrels of boiling oil into the city. And the Asavaeans aren’t content with just that destruction. They took 24 Freeborn from the city and made them watch it burn. Then, when the priests of the God of Chains gave the signal, all but three were killed. One for each of the tribes of the Freeborn, one Erigo, one Riqueza, one Guerra. And they are left with a message, ” We were an Empire before any of your petty kingdoms existed; we have no more lessons to learn about vengeance. But we can teach.”
Those that managed to flee Siroc went towards Lightsea and Segura, unfortunately many ships from the armada follow them. Quzar and Free Landing fall, the Parador of Salt and Sand and the Shining Pillar are taken, the first is looted, the second has its beacon extinguished.
The Isle of the Lyceum is besieged. It is unclear what has happened there, but even with the aid of the Commonwealth Scholars at the Lyceum Schloss, they cannot hold out forever and no one knows what will happen if the Grendel get their hands on the masses of lore and knowledge held there. The Dean of the Lyceum has lost their ability to codify ritual texts, and the other benefits of their post. They are still the Arbiter of Imperial Lore, so they may still raise a Declaration of Imperial Lore at Conclave.
To sum up, the Grendel have seized three regions of Madruga: Siroc Plains, Lightsea, and Free Landing. Since the Great Grasses region is under the sway of a terrible curse, it is not controlled by the Empire, this leaves only two regions in Empire Hands, meaning that Madruga is now officially contested and that it has lost its senate seat.
Many titles and ministries within the territory have been lost so while the holders may keep their titles they will lose the benefits they gained from them. These include, the Mistress of the Glass Parador and the Hakima of Salt and San. Likewise, the Commonwealth Embassy has been destroyed, so the Ambassador will lose their ministry but will still be able to communicate with their opposite in the Commonwealth and have kept such powers. It will be interesting to see how the Commonwealth reacts to all of this.
The destruction of Siroc is so great that the Plains of Siroc now come under the Ruins quality.
Due to the number of losses, they cannot maintain 3 armies, and after the Winter Solstice, they will go into decline due to lack of supply.
It has been a very, very bad time for the Freeborn.
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OK, that’s the summaries over for now. Apparently, these are all the Winds of War, so we will hopefully start getting the Winds of Fortune soon. Maybe there will be some brighter news to look forward to?
Thanks for reading, please leave a comment if I have made any mistakes. My Ko-Fi link is also here if you feel like saying thank you with money.
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See you next time!
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